Chunking In Patient Education

Low literacy affects many individuals within today’s society. The amount of individuals that are unable to comprehend medication labels, medication regimens, and learning points from discharge teaching is shocking and result in further health related injuries (Koh et al., 2012). Nurses must take the important task of recognizing an individual literacy and comprehension ability before planning the individual’s care plan. The nurse must find out the ways an individual can receive information that

It has grown from a non-educated nurse to one that has to be even more educated to keep up with the fast changing times with diverse topics and culture differences. It is a constant challenge for physicians and nurses to do their best in the fast changing nursing field. As nurses, we have to be constantly upgrading our education. We can’t expect anything to always be the same and to never change. Register nurses today work as a team, they work every day with physicians, pharmacists, speech and occupational therapists, just to name a few. Since nurses are primarily responsible for direct patient care and coordination, I believe that they should not be these educated on the health care

Teaching patients about their illnesses and how to prevent illness are essential components of patient self-care. However, we now understand that people have individual ways of learning and many factors can influence one’s ability and willingness to learn. As the healthcare professionals continue to explore new ways to improve the quality of healthcare, they must undoubtedly tailor interventions and educations programs to meet patient’s unique needs. Deborah Clayton studied the effectiveness of reducing HF readmissions through patient education activities and the use of critical thinking skills (2012). She endorses that transition of care programs should focus on stimulating self-care, helping patients recognize warning signs, and preventing hospital readmissions. Moreover, she promotes the use of cognitive aids such as handouts to help patients visually identify changes in their condition as well as diaries and logs help patients track symptoms and progress (Clayton, 2012). Finally, she supports the use of teaching techniques that require patients to recall information and perform “teach-backs” because they help ensure that patients fully comprehend information that has been taught (Clayton,

The leading cause of death for people in the majority of the ethnicities in the United States is heart disease, this includes Hispanics, whites and African American. Heart disease is second to cancer in the cause of death of Native Americans, Alaskan Natives and Pacific Islanders. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 610,000 deaths are recorded from heart disease in the United States annually – which translates to one in every four deaths. Furthermore, heart disease takes the lead in the cause of death of both men and women. The most common type of heart disease is coronary heart disease, being the prime culprit in the death of over 370,000 individuals yearly. On average, 735,000 Americans suffer a heart attack yearly, 525,000 of these are first time sufferers while 210,000 people are individuals who had suffered a heart attack in the past (CDC, 2015). The above alarming statistics on heart disease is a cause for concern and requires a strategic action to fight this public health problem. One of the ways to treat, prevent and reduce the number of heart disease cases is a good and effective patient education. This paper discusses the competencies that make a nurse a good, effective and expert patient educator in patient with coronary heart disease and how to become one.

The first step is for nursing schools, healthcare organizations, and healthcare providers to recognize the existence and significance of gaps between, what is taught in a nursing textbook, the hospital’s policy and procedures, published literature, and the actual practice.

One of the many ways technology is improving PA and nursing is that it makes promoting patient education much easier. Patient education is when health professionals give information about how to alter your lifestyle to stay healthy. The traditional way of doing this was seeing your PA or nurse through doctor appointments, but now through technology there is a much faster and effective way of doing this.

Within the first 40 hours I attended and observed a patient education board meeting. The meeting consisted of nurses, doctors, and the library. The discussions are on how to educate the patients. Each department presents potential patient education material. All materials must be approved by the board and must adhere to a six-grade reading level. I observed the monthly nurses board meeting where the discussion focused on nurse’s research and submission of their work to the new digital repository.

Kathryn Ramos and Robyn Mayfield, in the education department at GHC, were contacted via email for methods/techniques to improve presentation of patient education. A meeting was scheduled. The following questions were communicated through email: Best practice for presenting education to adults especially 65 years and up; education materials available at GHC either written, internet, or otherwise; best practice for written information; other possible sources of information on education to the elderly (65 years and up); any other information you think would be beneficial.

It is one’s duty as a nurse to always keep up with current trends. This is accomplished by partaking in a multidirectional approach to furthering education. Through academic, evidence based practice, clinical practice, and others; I will forever seek opportunities to expand my knowledge base to provide my patients with the best, well-rounded care I am capable of. Only through this will I continue to grow as a nurse and ensure that I am preserving my beliefs of core nursing characteristics.

In their article, Olson et al. are straight forward, clear, and concise, making it easy for nursing students, nurses, and nursing educators [their audience] to understand the content, whereas Pesut’s article is confusing and dense, making it difficult for most nurses [her audience] to understand or see clearly. Simultaneously, Olson et al. are more effective in their article compared to Pesut’s because their rhetoric is persuasive for their intended audience whereas

Prolonged and chronic ethanol (ETOH) use has devastating effects on the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. ETOH is easily absorbed from the intestine and diffuses quickly throughout the body. The bulk of the ETOH is metabolized in the liver. ETOH abuse produces functional and structural changes in the GI tract, such as in the stomach, small intestine, liver, and pancreas (Geokas, Lieber, French, & Halsted 1981). The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism website (2005) sites statistics indicating 28,175 deaths in 2005 were a direct result of liver cirrhosis. The website goes on to state, “In 1997, liver cirrhosis was the 10th leading cause

Meetings occurred multiple times this week to address and outline possible methods of education along with developing a plan for implementation. Through dialogue with a preceptor and Chief Nursing Officer, data that had been collected is compiled in pamphlet form to pass out for first education meeting. The pamphlet includes education for staff, education for the patient, patient fall contract, along with appropriate identification of at-risk patients, purposeful rounding, and lastly including pharmacy for medication review.

During week 4 on a medical surgery unit a teaching project was conducted on patient DH room 39 bed 2. The purpose of the teaching project was to educate the patient about the importance complying with her insulin regimen. More importantly, ensuring that DH knew how to self-administer her own insulin. The patient was aware of being on insulin however lacked the knowledge on how to administer her insulin, when to administer her insulin, and the appropriate site to administer her insulin. Being that this patient stated that she was unaware of how to administer her insulin, she could be considered to have low health literacy skills. In order to ensure effective teaching, this potential obstacle needed to be recognized and a patient-centered, shame-free environment should be created (Cornett, 2009). This paper will discuss necessary background information, a specific nursing diagnosis, outcomes, and evaluations that were used in conducting this teaching project.

Nurses who are often busy find it difficult to deliver effective patient teaching in this current healthcare atmosphere. As quoted by Fran London, a nurse patient-education expert, and author that, “Teaching patients isn't a rocket science, but it is a sophisticated skill that takes practice and commitment. Without patient education, there's very little effective healthcare with improved long-term outcomes” (Fran London, MS, RN, e-mail communication, June 12,

Throughout this semester, I have demonstrated a basic, multi-dimensional health assessment. I completed a multi-dimensional health assessment on my resident as demonstrated in completing part G of the RCP. Throughout this semester, I learned that as a nurse you will be constantly assessing the patient as soon as you walk into their room. I have implemented the habit as soon as I walk into my patient’s room, I assess his skin, his status of alertness, asking if he has any pain, as well as listening to his heart and lungs; then I do the focused assessment that is required for that day. As demonstrated in my weekly self-evaluations, I have improved on my documentation skills and will continue to improve on this skill throughout my career. I also